Anchorage (Alaska) district is building $50 million elementary to replace existing facility

The Anchorage (Alaska) district has broken ground on a new Inlet View Elementary School.

Alaska Public Media reports that the $50 million campus will be built over the next year and a half alongside the existing building, which was built in 1957 and is overcrowded. The school also does not have a sprinkler system or a separate cafeteria. Students eating lunch share a room with other students taking gym class.

As the only elementary school in the state with an International Baccalaureate program, Inlet View draws students from across the city to attend. The school enrolled about 215 students two years ago — 45 students over capacity. The new building will have room for nearly 300 students.

Rebuilding Inlet View has been talked about for years.

The roughly $50 million project got the final funding needed in April when voters passed a school bond with nearly $19 million for Inlet View. 

Students are expected to start attending school in the new, bigger Inlet View starting in 2026. At that point, the old building will be demolished.